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Podcast 2017 Episode 31 – Being Italian IS a Tactic

This week we talk through the Junior and Elite Women’s Road Races from Bergen in Norway. There was all sorts of excitement in both races, and we talk through the highlights, the lowlights and the interesting moments that made the races. We also have a bit of a chat about riders to keep an eye on from the Junior racing, and of course we get a bit sidetracked, distracted and diverted some of the time too. (1:08:20 MIN / 62.57 MB)

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2 thoughts on “Podcast 2017 Episode 31 – Being Italian IS a Tactic”

Let’s get the negativity out of the way first, everything else was so good. I saw the Twitter grumbles at the finishing chase at the elite race, the sentiment that stuck out was ‘lack of panache’. When the Dutch have 3 in a group of 7 to play 5-10km of track mind games, how do isolated riders with evenly matched skills in race conditions fight that, panache turns 20% chances into zeros.

A Taswegian afraid of tight roads? I read Maddy Fasnacht attacks differently, she won her national and continental RR champs by going on solo breakaways, got a bronze at Commie Youth Games because it came down to a bunch sprint. As a time trialling climber, the future is bright for her combination of abilities, I hope Macey Stewart on her trade team will keep watch over Madeline to prevent burnout.
Other highlights from juniors were Hannah Ludwig and Caroline Bohe working their butts off at the head of the peloton. The French confused me with their superior numbers not chasing down Elena. Poor Dutchies juniors.

8 Dutchies vs the world, just wow. The mind games, scary. Two Dutch favourites making the chasers do all the work to counter Blaak’s super-slingshot. Goosebumps is the correct word I saw regularly for Blaak’s finish, ripped jersey and bibshorts from that horror crash, scratched up forearm when she covered her mouth in disbelief.

So neat to see Marianne Vos look up at the finish line gantry and seeing Blaak’s name, then hyping up the crowd and punching the air for the Team NL victory.
I think I’ll keep watching more women’s racing, my first road world championships ever, my first big men or women’s event since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Good luck with the 2018 calendar preview show, too bad classics season clashes with the Commie Games, not sure who will do the Comm Games and leave trade teams scattered in Europe.

I have nothing against Chantal BUT I really wanted Annemiek to win (Double Rainbow Bands!). It was a GREAT race but I wish there were more attacks before that final cimb.

I feel had they (the Dutch) ramped up the pace in that last lap and bridged across to Chantal in that leading group before the climb, and attack like they did at the start of the climb shedding a bunch of riders and going over the top with just Kasia, Anna, Annemiek, and possible Katrin (as they were obviously the best climbers of the day). With Anna and Annemiek trading attacks until one of them got away there could have been a Dutch 1-2 or at the very least the Dutch getting 2 medals.